"It's a dazzling combination of text and illustrations with an indirect call to arms to protect the natural world around us." - Jena Benton, Simply 7 with Jena Benton

"informational fiction at its best." - Sandy Brehl, Unpacking the Power of Picture Books

"This lushly illustrated modern fable beautifully captures the layers of life in the rainforest and the reasons people want to deforest that area--for farming, for cattle ranching, for securing water supplies, for mining precious minerals. Armando's life is portrayed as simple and dependent on the forest. He shelters from the rain under large leaves; he gathers food to eat from the forest and has no need for a city or a store; he befriends the animals of the jungle who give him music and color and amusement. He recognizes that he is rich because he has all he needs. The poetic cadence of the text and the repetition of sentence structure make this a wonderful read-aloud book and a text that young children will easily follow. In addition to learning about the different animals and layers of the forest, readers will also begin to grasp the directions--north, south, east, and west, start to understand how human commerce and economy can 'undo' the web of nature and life, and have an introduction to metaphor--Armando does not live on an island, but his land is an island of safety for wildlife. Highly recommended for personal and school libraries." --Children's Literature